About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod

Thank you for purchasing this NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod. Each 4-20mA
Sensor Pod enables you to connect up to four 4-20mA sensors to your
NetBotz 420 or NetBotz 500 appliance.
Hundreds of 4-20mA sensors are available from third-parties, including
sensors designed to measure liquid flow rates, liquid levels, gases, pressure,
temperature, air velocity, voltage, and more. These sensors are connected to
the pod using screw terminals that are attached to the pod. The 4-20mA
Sensor Pod also provides a supplemental power port (18 volts nominal,
50mA) for use with 3- and 4-wire 4-20mA sensors.
The NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod package includes the following items:
• The NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod (with detachable screw terminals)
• 5 meter USB Cable
• 4 self-stick black rubber feet (can be adhered to the unit’s mounting tabs
for desktop-mounted pod deployments)
• Wall-mounting kit (includes 2 screws and 2 anchors for use in wall-
mounted deployments)
• USB cable mounting kit
• About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod (this pamphlet)

You must provide any wiring that is necessary to connect the 4-

20mA sensors to the screw terminals.
Note

Before You Begin

Before continuing, be sure you have the latest available version of Using Your
Appliance. You can obtain the latest available version of this publication (as a
PDF file) from the NetBotz Technical Support site at:
http://www.netbotz.com/support
Once you have opened the NetBotz Technical Support web page, select your
appliance model from the Monitoring and Management Appliances drop box,
click Go, and then click on Using Your Appliance in the list of downloadable
Product Pubs.
Using Your Appliance contains information and instructions you will need to
complete installation and configuration of the NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod.

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About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod

Installing the 4-20mA Sensor Pod

Important! Before connecting your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod to your
NetBotz appliance, first use the Upgrade task in the Advanced View to ensure
that your appliance is running BotzWare 2.2.2 or later. Earlier versions of
BotzWare do not support 4-20mA sensors and will not recognize or be able
to use the NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod.

To install the NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod, connect the pod to your NetBotz
appliance, or to a powered USB hub that is connected to the NetBotz
appliance.

Due to power requirements, your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod

must be connected either directly to one of the NetBotz
appliances USB ports or to a powered USB hub. If a USB cable
extension is required, use either a NetBotz CAT 5 or Fiber
500m Cable Extender. Use of other USB cable extenders may
Note result in inadequate power supply for the sensors and is not
recommended by NetBotz.

The 4-20mA Sensor Pod also features 4 mounting tabs. These mounting tabs
are designed to allow the 4-20mA Sensor Pod to be mounted along one edge
of a standard 19" rack or to be mounted on a wall/backboard. Alternatively,
you can adhere the 4 self-stick black rubber feet to the mounting tabs to help
prevent the pod from sliding or shifting when deployed on a table or desktop.

Connecting 4-20mA Sensors to your 4-20mA

Sensor Pod
The 4-20mA Sensor Pod features 5 removable screw terminal blocks: 4 of the
terminal blocks provide 4 matched positive/negative sensor connections and
the 5th terminal block provides a DC supply negative (common) terminal and
a positive (18V) terminal to supply up to 50mA of supplemental power to 3-
and 4-wire 4-20mA sensors.

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 About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod

To connect a sensor to the 4-20mA Sensor Pod, disconnect the required

terminal block (or blocks) from the Sensor Pod. Then, using a small slotted
screwdriver, refer to the sensor manufacturer’s instructions and the wiring
examples in this booklet (see “Wiring Examples” on page 5) to connect the
sensor wires as necessary.

If you are installing multiple 3- or 4-wire sensors, be sure that

the combined supplemental power demand of the sensors does
not exceed that 50mA maximum that can be supplied by the DC
Note Supply port on the 4-20mA Sensor Pod.

When you have finished connecting devices to the terminal blocks, reconnect
the terminal blocks to the 4-20mA Sensor Pod. Then use the Basic View
Configuration pane or the Advanced View Sensor Pods task to specify the
type of 4-20mA sensor that is connected to each of the pod ports. If you do not
currently have a preconfigured sensor type that matches the specific 4-20mA
sensor or sensors you connected to your pod, use the Add Custom Sensor
functionality to define a custom 4-20mA sensor type. For complete
instructions, see Using Your Appliance.

Wire Length Guide

The maximum length of wire that can be used to connect a 4-120mA sensor to
the 4-20mA Sensor Pod is dependent on both the voltage required to power
the sensor and the gauge of wire that is used. For general guidelines to
maximum wire length (in feet) refer to the table below.
Note that these guidelines assume that the 4-20mA Sensor Pod is being used
as specified, which ensures that the pod is receiving a full 5V of power from
the USB port and that the load on the DC Power supply does not exceed
50mA.

Wire Gauge
20 22 24 26 28
Volts Required

6 13,300 8,300 5,100 3,200 1,900

8 10,000 6,200 3,800 2,400 1,400
10 6,600 4,100 2,500 1,600 900
12 3,300 2,000 1,200 800 400

About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod 3

About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod

Wiring Examples

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 About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod

Specifications
• Accuracy: +/- 0.5 % Full Scale
• Sensor I/O Current Range: 0 to 23mA
– Open is detected at 3mA
– Overcurrent is detected at 23mA
• DC Supply Port: Non-Isolated, Unregulated 18V DC, 50mA MAX
• Operational Environment: 35 to 120 deg F, 5 % RH to 95% RH non-
condensing
• Sense voltage drop: 1V DC @ 20mA
• Designed for indoor use only.
• Wiring Recommendations: Use AWG 16 to AWG 28 wire for best
results. Twisted-pair recommended for loop lengths greater than 100’.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Declaration of Conformity Statement
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when
the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy. If it is not installed
and used in accordance with the instruction manual, it may cause harmful
interference to radio communications.
Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference, in which case users will be required to take whatever measures
may be necessary to correct the interference at their own expense.

Cleaning Your 4-20mA Sensor Pod

Use only a dry cloth to clean the 4-20mA Sensor Pod housing. Gently wipe
the surface of the 4-20mA Sensor Pod with a dry cloth.

Warranty
NetBotz Inc. warrants the 4-20mA Sensor Pod to be free from defects in
materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase.
Its obligation under this warranty is limited to repairing or replacing, at its
own sole option, any such defective products. This warranty does not apply to
equipment that has been damaged by accident, negligence, or misapplication
or has been altered or modified in any way. This warranty applies only to the
original purchaser.

About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod 5

About Your NetBotz 4-20mA Sensor Pod

Warranty Limitations
Except as provided herein, NetBotz Inc. makes no warranties, express or
implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose.
Some jurisdictions do not permit limitation or exclusion of implied
warranties; therefore, the aforesaid limitation(s) or exclusion(s) may not apply
to the purchaser.
Except as provided above, in no event will NetBotz Inc. be liable for direct,
indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of
this product, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.
Specifically, NetBotz Inc. is not liable for any costs, such as lost profits or
revenue, loss of equipment, loss of use of equipment, loss of software, loss of
data, costs of substitutes, claims by third parties, or otherwise. This warranty
gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights, which vary
from state to state.

Trademarks
BotzWare, NetBotz, RackBotz, WallBotz, and the NetBotz symbol are
registered trademarks of NetBotz, Inc.

PN: 02176D01

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